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The Great Leader
The Great Leader is a Political drama novel by Australian author Philip Graham. The novel takes place in a democratic socialist sovereign state, and it's story revolves around a Zackary, a man chosen to be the First secretary and President of the state after the death of his father, the previous leader. The narrative follows his party, the aptly-named Worker's Party, and sees Zackary meet people in his community who are suffering under the policies of his father's and previous leader's administrations, building an administration of his own that will support the nation, and most importantly the people. This, however, raises conflict in the party, whose vice secretary, Heathrow, causes a division in the party that triggers the first general election in the state for a number of years. Synopsis Setting The Great Leader is set in a socialist state, with the majority of the novel taking place in the Grand Archer Palace, the residing building of the national congress and offices of leading political figures including First Secretary Archer's office, where most of the conversations of the novel take place. As Zackary travels across the country thrughout the course of the novel, the story switches back and forth between Zakary and Heathrow, who, throughout the near entirety of the novel, is at the Grand Archer Palace. Main Characters *Zackary Archer *Heathrow Kuncevo-Leo Plot Zackary Archer has been forcefully taken on as the brand new President of the state and First Secretary of the Workers' party, vacanated after the death of his father, who had died of cancer. He had been guilty of his father's decisions since he was a child, bringing war and destruction to an otherwise peaceful country which used to be before his father had taken control. At first, he refuses the position as leader of the country, also refusing to "clean up the mess" his father left behind. However, the party declines his plead and forces him to stay in power. Frustrated and morally confused, he becomes abusive and disrespectful to his cabinet ministers and colleauges. It is not until he causes his love interest, Martha, to run away in tears that he realises what he is doing to his friends and, after looking at old paintings and murals of his father walking down the city streets, how similar he had become to his also abusive and disrespectful father. Background Graham's interest in communism had been active since he started high school, but inspiration for The Great Leader had been triggered at the beginning 2013 Korean crisis, sparking his interest in North Korea's political ideologies, which were the main inspiration for the unnamed fictional state featured in the novel. The main arc of the story, the leadership crisis and division of the Worker's Party, was also inspired by current events at the time; the real-life leadership crisis and division of the Australian Labor Party during the Gillard Government, where, over the course of the entire term, a leadership crisis between then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard and then-former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had triggered four leadership spills in 2010, 2012, March 2013 and June 2013. Promotion Chapters ;Wide release References External links Category:Browse